“The Man Who Would Be King”, adapted for stage by Peter Meineck, founder of the Aquila Theatre Company, from the short story of the same name by Rudyard Kipling, debuted on Saturday night at the Hamilton City Hall Theatre.

It was also the first time the new play has been performed in front of a non-American and British audience.

Written in 1888 at the height of British imperialism, the story is about Peachy Carnehan and Daniel Dravot, two ex-British Army sergeants who concoct a scheme to conquer the fictitious kingdom of Kafiristan, positioned to the north of India.

Their aim is to steal gold and precious gems from Kafiristan and return to Britain to retire as wealthy men. Professor Meineck informed those of us who attended the pre-performance lecture that the play, which had taken roughly 18 months to progress from conception to stage, was still a work in progress.

As the creator, I am sure that he would be aware of the fine points that need tweaking but what I beheld on Saturday night was a totally engrossing, hilarious, touching bit of theatre.

It seemed almost as fun to present as it was to watch, the primary actors as well as the ensemble throwing themselves energetically into the recreation of the fascinating and layered yarn. There were no lulls as far as I could discern, yet there was still enough space for us to take it all in.

The set comprised of a Union Jack and hanging layers of fabric to suggest the Indian element.

This play saw the actors of the Aquila Company doing what they do best. For example at one point the fluid placement and replacement of boxes by cast-members created a train which morphed into a platform which then evolved into the humble office of The Reporter, who along with the disguised Stranger recounted the story.

The play was really about telling a great story - and as with the best stories - many details were filled in by our imaginations in the audience. As minimalist as the set was, it always seemed full as language and movement, at one point vividly suggested a freezing mountain ridge and at another, a temple.

In the first scene, at one point, the ensemble rotated from behind boxes and back, in split seconds with minuscule costume changes and employing different accents, with the effect of almost tripling their number. At another point sound, movement and live vocalisation recreated a market that seemed many times larger than what City Hall stage could possibly hold.

Peachy and Daniel, were played with distinction by Richard Willis and Anthony Cochrane, respectively. They exhibited real chemistry as they portrayed the two lovable scoundrels looking to make it rich.

Jay Leibowitz was excellent as the equally loveable, gullible and honourable Billy Fish. David DelGrosso and Lloyd Notice were fine as The Reporter and The Stranger as they filled in what transpired between the portions of the tale that were recreated on stage.

Although much of the story is somewhat satirical and full of humour, there are some disturbing bits.

After all, it is about colonisation, so the low-life protagonists do feel somewhat superior to the “heathens” they are fooling and fleecing. One sequence that I found particularly dark was when Peachy and Daniel were casually and purposefully mowing down with rifles twenty fleeing tribesmen caught in the act of terrorising three women from another tribe, simply as a show of power. Such action served to momentarily remind us of some of the atrocities of colonisation.

The full house seemed entranced by the wondrous story that enfolded masterfully in front of our eyes.

I, for one, am a huge fan of the Aquila Theatre Company and I hope they return for next year's Bermuda Festival.